A Walloon woman who recently celebrated her 100th birthday was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday after recovering from the new coronavirus (Covid-19).
Julia Dewilde was released from the Bois de l'Abbaye hospital in Seraing after being admitted there on 10 April with a respiratory infection linked to Covid-19.
Hospital staff cheered and the press snapped photos as the woman was wheeled out to the entry hall of the hospital, with her recovery hailed as a "beacon of hope" amid the current pandemic.
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"Thanks to her fighting spirit and the support of her family, the patient made it through, her condition evolved positively," Dr Anne Coenen, head of the hospital's geriatrics department, told La Libre, adding that Dewilde had "always remained hopeful."
Dewilde, who turned 100 years old at the weekend, did not require admission into the intensive care unit nor artificial ventilation and also received treatment for a broken wrist in the hospital.
"Ms Dewilde received oxygen treatment and antibiotics because she presented traces of a bacterial infection," Coenen said.
The recent centenarian was able to return to her residence in a local nursing home, with the doctor saying that there was no risk that Dewilde could pass the virus along.
"We returned her to her community without risk of contagion because a PCR test that was done came back negative," Coenen said.
Dewilde is one among several centenarians around the world to have captured media attention after recovering from the deadly virus, including a 100-year-old man in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus causing the current pandemic was first detected.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
